by By: Caroline Wilson
Whether you’re working for a company asking you to post the work highlights of the last month or just a student looking to recap all the cool things they have done throughout the past month here is a what to look for if you’re hoping to make the perfect Instagram Story post.
Step 1. Collect Your Photos
Whether you are slowly adding photos to an album throughout the month or picking them out all at once it is important to make a collection of photos to use and or potentially use before you make a post. This way you are able to see which photos you like best and also which photos go well together.
Step 2. Arrange Your Photos in Order
Once you have decided and approved what photos you are going to use in your Instagram story dump the next step is to arrange them in an order that not only makes sense but also looks good. One way to do this could be putting them in chronological order of when the photos were taken or it can just be what looks the best next to one another when tapping through Instagram.
Step 3. Choosing a Caption
Now that you have all of your pictures in your desired order it is time to choose captions. In my experience shorter captions work the best with an Instagram story because a lot of the time people are just clicking through. By picking a few short captions to put on some of the pictures it is more likely that followers will actually read them instead of skipping past. But not every picture in the Instagram story dump needs a caption, sometimes it is best to just post the picture by itself.
Step 4. Picking Out Other Additions
Captions are not the only thing that you are able to add to an Instagram story, there are many other fun aspects that you can pick from. Links, GIFS, stickers and more are available for use on your Instagram story. By using these items it makes your stories more fun and more interesting to look at, which means followers and viewers are more likely to stop and look at it. It is also very helpful because it makes it easy to add links to a post, making it even easier to bring viewers to your preferred site.
Step 5. Posting the Final Product
The final step is to post all of the stories. There are many ways to do this, you can post all of the stories back to back, you can post them all with a certain amount of time in between them, or you can post certain groups of pictures at the same time and post the rest at a later time. It is important to note that for a successful Instagram story dump all photos do need to be posted on the same day, otherwise it is no longer/a more confusing dump. I recommend posting the stories all black to back at the same time so that you don’t forget to post any of them. And also picking a prime social media usage hour for your post, like lunch time or when a majority of people are getting off of work.
Good luck with all of your Instagram story dumps and I hope this step by step how to was helpful! Happy posting! Request me on Instagram if you want to check out my stories.
This is a really helpful guide, Caroline! I especially like your emphasis on visual flow in Step 2 and the strategic use of captions in Step 3. One thing I’d add is to consider using a consistent filter or editing style for all the photos in the dump. This can create a more cohesive and polished look. Thanks for sharing!
Instagram feels like a very simple social media platform, primarily consisting of videos or photos accompanied by explanations or introductions to the content. The key question is how to use your content to attract others. In my opinion, the cover image and hashtags are the most important elements.
Such a fun and informative read! I loved your tips on creating the perfect Instagram story dump. You made the process feel creative and effortless, and your advice on balancing aesthetics with authenticity really stood out.
Hi Caroline, I loved your post on an Instagram story dump! I liked how you laid out a guideline to make the process feel less daunting. As you mentioned, I think it is important to add elements that your audience can interact with. That helps build a community and strengthen overall relationships between audience & brand/influencer.